Intonation Music Workshop
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 260799250
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3124690554
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $772,945
- Expenses
- $889,910
- Assets
- $683,460
- Liabilities
- $107,255
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Tonya Howell (Executive Director)
- David Singer (Board President)
- Mario Smith (Board Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Tonya Howell (Executive Director): $123,326 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Intonation kids explore their limitless potential by learning to play instruments and forming their own rock bands. Our year-round classes make music accessible to children in low-income neighborhoods by providing them with instruments, instruction, mentorship, and the chance to perform on stages across the city. Each Intonation student takes part in a personal and team approach to practices, setting goals, and problem solving; and over time they gain the confidence to take charge of their direction and seek out new experiences.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provides music education for about 700 children annually, 3rd through 12th grade, in the greater Bronzeville neighborhoods. Activities include musical instruction, access to instruments, performance, mentorship, recording and clinics with music industry professionals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.2%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 76.6%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -15.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.9%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.2% of revenue deployed · 76.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $682K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $123K · 19 people listed
- Consistency: 43 of 44 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.